November 5, 2010: Venice Day 5 (Instituto Veneto di Sciencze Lettere ed Arti)

November 5, 2010:  On our last day in Venice,we decided to see the Instituto Veneto di Sciencze Lettere ed Arti, an institution just next to our B&B. There was an exhibit of Stan Kubrick there but we decided to just look at the building which is quite elaborate.

Instituto Veneto di Sciencze ed Arti

Instituto Veneto di Sciencze ed Arti

Instituto Veneto di Sciencze ed Arti

Then, since we had no more major attractions that we had to visit, we roamed a bit more. We walked past a store that sold paintings and since Ric had made friends with the store owner who is an Irish woman who had married an Italian, we talked with her for quite some time. She told us about her favorite restaurant that is located near the Rialto Bridge. She showed me on my map how to get there and wrote down the name of the restaurant. After talking with her for some time, we decided to go to the restaurant she suggested. We returned to the Rialto Bridge area and being the "guide", I went down one of the alleys she said the restaurant might be in. The alley was long, dark, and went by no doors or windows. It ended at the Grand Canal. Strike one. I tried the next alley which also seemed very nondescript -- how could a restaurant be down there? I went anyway and it led me through a narrow alley with no store windows or doors on the buildings enclosing it. The alley extended about 30 yards and turned to the right. Another 20 yards with no door or window in sight. Another turn to the left took me through a dark tunnel with only two dingy walls on each side. At the end was a small courtyard that overlooked the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge. Still I could not see anything that looked like a fine restaurant. I looked above me on the wall and read the name of the alley: Campiello Remer, the name of the restaurant she had written down. I looked further, and behind an umbrella hid the only door I saw during my trip through the alley. I returned to get the others and we walked into what was my favorite restaurant and meal of our whole trip. The restaurant was very cozy and at night someone would play the piano. For lunch the only thing on the menu was their "business buffet", 20 euros for a generous glass of wine, an all you can eat buffet, and a specially prepared pasta dish, all followed by a cup of espresso. The buffet was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the tomatoes baked with cheese stuffing them and the brussel sprouts. But there were also meats, vegetables, cheeses, and the desserts were delicious as well -- baked pears, homemade custard with berries, cake, ...  Shortly after we arrived, the restaurant became filled with Italians who obviously ate there often. It certainly was wonderful to go to a restaurant recommended by a Venetian. And, to make the trip all the more memorable, we were told that the building where we ate is the Venetian restaurant that imploded in the first of Daniel Craig's James Bond movies at the end of the movie. Guess I'll have to see that again to revisit our trip there.

Alley leading to restaurant

Entrance to restaurant

view of Rialto Bridge from restaurant pier

view from restaurant pier

Jack and Deb in restaurant

part of buffet at restaurant

After lunch, we decided that since we had a lot of time to go, we would get our luggage and  walk back to the bus station visiting some churches on the way. One thing is for sure: the churches in Venice may look a bit colorless outside them, but inside they are filled with frescoes, statues, and hanging chandeliers. Quite impressive. 

S.M. Gloriosa del Frari

S.M. Gloriosa del Frari

Scuola Grande di San Rocca

Here are some other pictures taken during the day.

fish stall

Sculpture made of spark plugs

Venetian glass

Santa Maria della Salute

restaurant on San Marco Square

Theatre in Venice

Picture of a picture of inside of theatre

We slowly traveled through the streets toward the bus terminal and arrived with plenty of time to spare. Good thing, too, because when we looked for the Eurolines office to check in for a seat on our bus, I discovered another thing about Venice -- no one seems to know where the bus terminal is! I went to ticket booths where people were selling boat tickets, but the attendants had no idea where the bus terminal was. I finally found the Eurolines office but it was closed. I went next door to ask the ATVO ticket agent how to get in touch with a Eurolines agent and all he said was "The office is next door." When I told him that the office was closed, he replied that the Eurolines office had been closed for seven years. He turned his back on me and went on with his business ignoring my further questions. I returned to my travel companions and gave them the news. So, Jack and I roamed among all the bus stops in the terminal until we found the stop where we had arrived in Venice a few days earlier and saw the Eurolines sign. We conculded that we should wait there until 8:00 p.m. when our bus was to leave. 

Since the time was still early for our bus, we decided to get something to eat. I was really not hungry at all because of our wonderful lunch, but I joined the others. We selected a restaurant that was right next to a canal. Since Ric wasn't particularly hungry either, we decided to share a pizza. When the waiter took our order, I told him that Ric and I would share a pizza and he said "Sorry, but everyone must order a full meal -- no sharing!" So, I told him that I would therefore have nothing since I was not very hungry. The food came and I was served a plate, but I took no chances and didn't eat anything since I was a little disgusted with the waiter. In fact since we were eating outside the restaurant right next to the canal, there were a lot of people walking along the canal which made things a bit crowded. I could see a young English tourist walk by and because of the tight space in walking down the lane, he accidentally bumped into our waiter who reacted to this by jabbing the tourist sharply in his chest with his elbow! The tourist stopped and looked to see why he was jabbed so needlessly, but by then the waiter had left. And so ended our last meal in Venice.

We returned to our bus stop. Time rolled on -- 7:30, 7:45, 7:50, 7:55, 7:58, 7:59, 8:00, 8:10 -- still no sign of our bus! I was beginning to feel a bit at a loss. Then Deb called the Eurolines ticket office in Budapest and talked with an agent who spoke little English. She could hear the agent checking with someone else about the status of our bus, and was eventually told the bus would arrive "in three or four minutes." We waited ten minutes and voila! -- the bus arrived at 8:25.


We boarded our bus and after another grueling all night trip arrived home in Budapest. Although I did enjoy visiting Venice over all, I was really glad to return to Budapest. I guess that shows that Budapest has become home to me for the time being! It was great to see trees again and be among people who seem to enjoy talking with each other again. I accompanied Jack, Deb, and Ric to the train station where they took a three hour train trip back to their city and I continued on the subway and bus to my home. 

Nyugati (West) Train Station

Since my trip home required taking two buses from the subway and there's a market between those two bus stops, I decided to buy some food for dinner that night. Since I was exhausted with little sleep on the bus, I decided to make something easy, and wouldn't you know I chose spaghetti?!! Imagine preparing spaghetti after having been in Italy for the previous five days and eating outstanding spaghetti there!

I returned home, made breakfast, and took a short nap before tending to household chores. At least I was home.